Oscar box office tilts toward 'Gravity'

Oscar isn't necessarily about box office but taking a look at the those numbers can open some eyes. Come Oscar time, it is often bantered about that people haven't seen the nominated films.

Since the Academy went to a possibility of 10 nominations in the best picture category, that idea has faded away. When it was five, the chances for that were greater but deceiving. Plus, this isn't a contest for the highest-grossing or most-watched film, but rather, the best. Now, that doesn't always mean favorite film, either.

Here are the grosses for the films nominated in the best picture category for the 2014 Oscar, which be be handed out Sunday (March 2), according to Box Office Mojo. They note that the average gross for the films is $86.6 million, which means they were seen by many people. Four of them went over $100 million, with one going well over $200 million.

Oscar nominees

1. "Gravity" - $269,275,323

2. "American Hustle"- $144,115,172

3. "The Wolf of Wall Street" - $112,821,562

4. "Captain Phillips" - $106,957,071

5. "12 Years a Slave" - $49,077,220

6. "Philomena" - $32,720,252

7. "Dallas Buyers Club" - $24,746,780

8. "Her" - $23,980,038

9. "Nebraska" - $16,513,883

* This is up until Feb. 24, 2014.

Now, a few quick hits. There were 289 films eligible for this year's show. Last year's show averaged 40.3 million viewers. There were 50 Oscar statuettes made this year while 44 will be given out, in 24 categories, during this show.